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Re: subclinical mastitis

It sounds like you're doing everything right. I would not do cabbage leaves if I were you (never heard of raw potato), it will dry your supply right up.

I've heard taking soy lecithin supplements is supposed to help with plugged ducts, but I'm not sure if it's more a preventative measure or if it would help with one you already have. Maybe someone else can chime in on that.

“We are not put on earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other. If you are there always for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you.”
--Anonymous

Re: subclinical mastitis

update for ultrasound results!

It's just a cyst! Whew! My doctor said it's probably just filled with milk and is not something to worry about--not going to drain it or anything because it could just fill up again. He said to gently feel it once a month to check on it. He also said they're pretty common during breastfeeding.

Re: subclinical mastitis

Personally, I wouldn't mess around with it, but everyone's body and situation is different. I had a lump for the last 2-3 weeks that wasn't going away, but also wasn't getting bigger either and I had no fever. Usually my lumps seem to work themselves out after a couple of weeks so I figured it was no big deal. Well...Monday night this thing grows to 10 cm, fills with pus and becomes hard and painful. By the time I got in with the doctor on Wednesday it was definitely abscessed. They drained it and put me on amoxicillin, but it refilled and I had to go back to the surgeon this morning for an Incision and Drainage. I'll have to see a nurse everyday for the next week to change the packing (it'll be a happy Thanksgiving, I'm sure) and I have the rare joy of knowing my breast intimately outside and in.

I don't want to scare anyone, but this really scared me! (And I'm not out of the woods yet.) I don't know anymore at what point I should be calling the doctor, because it seems I went straight from a persistent plugged duct (which, admittedly, I should have been taking care of better) to a giant abscess which was on the verge of bursting on its own by the time I saw the surgeon today. Yikes.

So, even if there is no fever, I think I'll be calling the doctor from now on if the plugs don't resolve themselves after a week or so.

Re: subclinical mastitis

Lizzie's Mom, that's terrible! I'm really sorry you had to go through that. I'm really sorry, and let us know how it goes with the incision and drainage - breastfeeding with an incision can be a challenge, but I've been through that, and I do have some ideas.

For the record, though, I think a cyst is different than a clogged duct (which can abcess). The lump in my breast is a cyst, probably not milk, but rather, dead milk duct tissue (sexy, huh? ). But anyway, my understanding is that cysts can change in size slightly, but they shouldn't be tender, and they are not prone to infection. At least, that's true of MY cyst, anyway.

You can call me JoMo!

Mom to baby boy Joe, born 5/4/09 and breastfed for more than two and a half years, and baby girl Maggie, born 7/9/12.